A Physical Education with Casey Johnston

A Physical Education with Casey Johnston

Author: The War on Cars, LLC May 12, 2026 Duration: 56:51

Just as it is with road safety, so much of how Americans talk about health pushes the responsibility for eating right and exercising onto the individual, ignoring the many structural barriers that prevent people from making "good" choices. Through her newsletter, She's a Beast, and her bestselling book A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting, Casey Johnston cuts through the noise, making connections across various disciplines to help people rethink their notions about health, exercise and body positivity. Casey joins The War on Cars to talk about how "at the scale of daily life, cars should be systematically discouraged, in order to even begin to contend with the deaths and health decline from a lack of physical activity."

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Order our new book, Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile, out now from Thesis, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Find out the latest about our book tour at LifeAfterCars.com.

LINKS:

Buy Casey Johnston's books, A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting and Liftoff: Couch to Barbell, as well as books by all of our podcast guests at our official page on Bookshop.org

Subscribe to Casey Johnston's newsletter, She's a Beast, and read her post on "the plot to strangle the American of life, liberty, and happiness."

Thanks to Cleverhood for sponsoring The War on Cars. Listen for the latest discount code and get the best rain gear for walking and cycling at 15% off.

Buy a certified, pre-owned e-bike from Upway and save $100 off any purchase of $800 or more with code TWOC100. Visit Upway.co to get rolling.

Check out the Lumos Ultra Smart bike helmet and the Firefly smart light system at RideLumos.com

www.thewaroncars.org


Imagine a world not built around traffic jams and parking lots, but shaped for people. The War on Cars is a dispatch from the front lines of that effort, a collective conversation questioning the automobile’s dominance over our cities, our environment, and our daily lives. Each episode digs into the real-world fight to reclaim public space, examining everything from the politics of a new bike lane to the history of how cars came to rule. You’ll hear from urban planners, activists, historians, and ordinary people pushing back, offering a mix of sharp analysis, on-the-ground reporting, and compelling narratives. This isn’t just about transportation; it’s about the culture and societal choices that have led us here, and the tangible, often inspiring work to create safer, quieter, and more connected communities. Tune in for a thoughtful and necessary critique of the status quo, a podcast dedicated to the idea that our streets can-and should-be for so much more.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The War on Cars
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